Cryptocurrency stands at the forefront of technology’s efforts to utilize the power of the Internet for positive change. And according to Neha Narula, director of research at MIT’s Media Lab Digital Currency Initiative, such change is needed. Neha Narula Instead of an interoperable data fabric, data has been siloed. Instead of access and freedom, gated app stores exist. Narula described the leadership role MIT’s Media Lab Digital Currency Initiative is taking in working to change this, Medium reported. She reviewed the numerous steps the initiative has taken to unshackle the control a few organizations have over online power. She noted that after finishing her Ph.D. at MIT, she recognized bitcoin is the largest consensus algorithm. She realized that the need to reach agreement among parties that don’t necessarily trust each other is omnipresent. Support For Data Consensus In her role at the Digital Currency Initiative, Narula has dialogued with people in various industries who said an open, censorship-resistant, interoperable platform for data consensus could address many issues, including digital identification for refugees, micropayments to support content producers, and credit and money transfer services for the unbanked. Narula realized the world is ready to embrace establishing more interoperable, open systems, and that the effort could help solve numerous problems. The possibility of making a difference in such problems is worth exploring. Those involved in these issues believe a cryptographically-signed, open access log has something to offer. In Search Of Trust Paradigms MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative seeks to leverage its talent base and develop the trust paradigms needed. Much of the technology community has given up on the chance that these technologies can be truly decentralized and open. The Digital Currency Initiative, on the other hand, wants to balance that viewpoint and support research that finds a forward path. Harnessing Multiple […]
